As 2015 is gradually coming to a close and Arief Wismoyono and Ma Yanxing have been crowned the inaugural Asia Trail Master champions, we can begin to look forward to next year. Whereas the core concept of the Asia Trail Master series remains the same, a few details are being amended. One of the biggest innovations for the points ranking and therefore the championship, is the creation of the SuperTrails.

A SuperTrail race is a race in which finishers score 50 bonus points for their Asia Trail Master ranking. Looking at the final rankings of 2015, those 50 points can make a difference. The selected SuperTrail races take place in different countries. In 2016, there will be 5 SuperTrail events, selected on the basis of 2015 merits and future vision.

Ultra Trail Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Tsaigu Tangsi Plus (China)
Malaysia Eco 100 (Malaysia)
Mount Rinjani Ultra (Indonesia)
Clark-Myamit Falls Ultra (Philippines)

The 50 SuperTrails points will be allocated on all race distances of these five events, as long as they meet the criteria for Asia Trail Master points.

Please read more about the 2016 points allocation via our dedicated webpage.

The Grandmaster Quest is not affected by the new SuperTrail category. Each Asia Trail Master race of 70km or more will give finishers 1 point on their path to reach Grandmaster status. More on the Grandmaster Quest in the coming days.

The 2016 SuperTrails

(click on the logo to go to the event's cover page)

February: Ultra Trail Hong Kong

April: Tsaigu Tangsi Plus

May: Malaysia Eco 100

August: Mount Rinjani Ultra

November: Clark-Myamit Falls Ultra

Abroad bonus

Another novelty regarding the points allocation in Asia Trail Master races in 2016 is the abroad bonus. Runners who have finished and scored points in at least three races, will at the end of 2016 be credited with 50 bonus points if one of those three races was outside of their country of residence at the time of the race.

Interaction between runners from all Asian communities is one of the key objectives of the Asia Trail Master series, and people who take the opportunity and initiative to travel and explore races in a different country deserve to be rewarded in points.

Win points in C races as well

A third significant amendment to our points system is the fact that runners can now also score finisher and performance points on an event's C-distance race, provided that event is 25km or longer. The treshold for a B-race distance has also been increased from 21km to 25km. The reason for this change is that several organisers are introducing a 100 miles race to their event. We feel it is justified that runners who do, for instance, a 70km (Bromo Tengger Semeru) or 50km (Malaysia Eco 100) race are entitled to points even if those races are only the third longest of the event.

Organisers, join the 2016 Asia Trail Master series

While our race calendar has been shaping up nicely for 2016 already, event organisers are still welcome to approach us and apply for entry into our calendar. Please contact us on info@asiatrailmaster.com for further details. Note that we do not accept new entries for races that take place before 15 March 2016.

2016 Preview: introducing the SuperTrails & Abroad Bonus!